Wheelchair user with 3% chance of walking again ‘barred from NHS-funded device’

A wheelchair user has been denied an electric wheelchair from her local CCG because doctors say she has a 3% chance of walking again.

Charlotte Walton from Newbury is housebound because of a rare genetic condition and has had to launch a crowdfunding campaign so she can purchase a £5,000 powerchair after the NHS would not refer her to a wheelchair service.

Ms Walton told the BBC she is “stuck at home”. But her local CCG apologised and asked her to contact them to discuss the issue.

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She said: “Because of this 3% there is no definitive answer over whether I will walk again, so I’m stuck.”

A spokesperson for Berkshire West CCG told the BBC: “We are very sorry to hear of Miss Walton’s situation”. She was asked to speak to it to “discuss the decision making process in more detail.”